how long do you hold at full draw?

[recurve shooter]

bout two secconds to make sure im on target. sometimes less.

[mullet]

 I hold as long as it takes. I'm usually close when I shoot and sometimes hold at a full draw till the animal drops it's head down or looks away.

[George Tsoukalas]

I don't hold at all. I shoot quickly. Jawge

[Keenan]

 I try to make the draw and release a smooth fluid motion. Releasing just as I hit full draw. If I find myself releasing to early, I will draw slower and that usually helps me to stay more consistant.
 However as Justin and a few others stated, hunting can sometimes require you to hold for the shot. But with wood bows, holding at full draw for more then a couple seconds is not a good idea.

[Josh]

yeah I usually hold for 1-2 seconds lately and it seems to have helped my accuracy a little.  Del that was pretty famn dunny about the owl.   

[Kegan]

I hold for a second or two. Saxton Pope wrote that a hold of longer than five seconds will cause an extra six inches of drop at 60 yards. So that would be about 3" of drop at 30 yards. Either way, not enough for most current hunters to worry, so I don't sweat it .

[Jesse]

What's the difference between me and a constipated Owl?
I shoot but can't hit....
Del

Took me a second
Pat yeah I am shooting a boo backed bow but up until recently I was treating them all the same. I noticed that a lot of the pro tournament shooters hold the draw for a bit and use some type of repeatable aiming method. For me it takes too long to get the shot lined up right to let go right at anchor. I shot instinctively and took deer that way but for me conscious aiming is much more consistent. I think what hurt my shooting was that in the back of my mind I was always worried about holding too long so I would let go before I was confident in the shot. Sometimes I can be confident right when I hit anchor but if not I just hold till it looks right to me. I was just curious about damage to the bow. Arrow speed is not a factor with the bows I normally shoot.

[tombo]

I agree with the "too much processing time spoils the accuracy" idea. I do best if I home in on the target visually and let the rest happen. Practice makes perfect!
Tom

[GregB]

Maybe a second or less after reaching anchor.

[robbsbass]

There are to ways of looking at this, if you are an instinctive shooter you will generally take less time releasing but if you aim properly you will take longer. The most important thing to rember is you form, your form should always be correct and your anchor point be in the same spot with no head movement. Any deviation of form or anchor point will change where your arrows land.
Just my oppinion.

               Robb

[Jesse]

I agree with that Robb. I believe form is the key to consistent shooting. I just started paying attention to it and it makes a big difference. Maybe not as much on a real short shot but on a real long shot it will show if your form is good or not. Elevation might be off a little at long range but the left right should be right on.   

[TheWildCat]

I don't know how long. I never think bout it. I draw and anchor, while lookin at the kill spot. When my brain tells me I'm on target, I release.

[Jmilbrandt]

I always draw and shoot, no hold time. If I hold it my accuracy gets worse.